Madness
by Finding Tobias
Summary: Much to Phil's dismay, the Ducks take in a homeless girl suffering from a mental illness. Wildwing accepts on one condition. Nosedive has other plans. And then there's this guy named Shaun.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mighty Ducks. **

**Summary**: Much to Phil's dismay, the Ducks take in a homeless girl suffering from a mental illness. Wildwing accepts on one condition. Nosedive has other plans. And then there's this guy named Shaun.

**Chapter One**

Elsie sits in the hockey rink, relishing the cool air from the ice below. She leans back and puts her feet up on the chair in front of her. The voices have calmed down for now after she used the last of her money to by breakfast this morning so that she could take the last of her medicine. Today seemed a day of endings, she thought. Every seems to be going to hell in a hand basket. There has to be some sort of silver lining to this whole mess. A team practices on the ice.

She touches her black eye gingerly, wincing at the pain.

Her cellphone rings. She looks at the caller id. It was her mother. "Darling, please come home. He didn't meant it honestly."

"I took the last of my Geodon today."

"Come home, and I'll refill it. He's left."

Elsie wishes it were true. He would only leave for a few days and then come back. And when her stepfather comes back, he would beat her mother and her. As much as it broke her heart to leave her mother in that situation, she wouldn't be coming back. She finally saw through the lies of her abuser and she wasn't afraid of him now.

"I can't stay there mom," Elsie answers. Her eyes fill up with tears. "I can't stand to have him near me or touch me again."

"Where are you? I'll come at least I can do is bring you your medicine and give you some money. It's my fault, it's always my fault."

"I'll manage." Elsie sniffs.

"Hey!" A gruff voices says. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

"Uh…." Elsie stammers at the burly man in a blue suit and a really ugly tie approaches she cowers in her seat.

He grabs her roughly by the arm. "Don't you know this is private property? You're trespassing."

"The door was unlocked."

"Who sent you?" He shakes her hard. "Who? It was the Penguins, wasn't it?"

"N-n-no," Elsie says. "I just wanted to watch them."

"Who?" He pulled her close to him. "Who sent you?

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" Spittle flies on her face. "How do you not know?"

"I-I-I."

"You, you, you, what?"

"I'm homeless," she blurted out. "I just wanted somewhere to cool off. I wasn't going to stay."

"Great, so now I have some dirty person stinking up the arena. This is just great. Do you know how much it costs to get those things cleaned?"

"No."

"Of course you wouldn't. You're just a stinky homeless person who like to mooch of everyone's money. You know what I think of welfare. It's shit. Those people should be ashamed. They should just get a job."

He pushes her into one of the seats. "Come on, Am-scray, before I call the cops on your sorry ass.

"Hey, Phil what's going on up there?" One of them calls.

"Some dirty homeless girl taking up space and using our place to cool down." He drags her down a few stairs. She winces as he digs her nails into her skin.

"Maybe she's a fan," A young voice piped in. "Maybe she stopped by to watch us?"

"Being homeless is not a sin," The player with a strong accent says. "I've been homeless before."

"So have I," A nasally voice said.

"I didn't know you'd been homeless." The man with the accent says.

"Oh yes. I was homeless for about a year. It was due to circumstances beyond my control. I still had my job, but it wasn't enough to live on. I had to scape and save for a while. I lived with a former co-worker. But you know, stuff happens and you get through it."

"Wow, Ton," The young voice answers. "Damn."

"Watch your mouth, Nosedive," The goalie growled. "Phil, I want you to let the girl go. She can stay here as long as she needs. It is hot outside today."

"But…" Phil protests.

"Let her be," The goalie answers. He wore an orange mask that gave him red eyes. Elsie found him to be quite intimidating. Obviously, he was the leader of the group.

Phil let go of Elsie's shirt. Knees shaking, she sits back down in her chair. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do. You see, I'm a good friends with the Cops and I have them on speed dial. He takes his iphone out of his pocket and waves it in front of her face.

"Give it a rest, Phil." The young voice says, "Geez, it's not like the she's working for the Saurians," He says. He leans against the boards to catch his breath. His long blond hair peeked out of his helmet. Taylor Swift song played over the speakers.

Her stepfather was a big fan of hockey. He would often get drunk and watch the game on television. He would scream and yell in the same tone that he used on Elsie and her mother when they did something wrong or not.

Frankly, being in a hockey rink is quite scary, almost like he could show up at any moment. He would often get drunk and watch the game on television. He would scream and yell in the same tone that he used on Elsie and her mother when they did something wrong or not.

She took a deep breath to calm the anxiety that rose in her chest.

"I knew you were trouble when you walked in," He sings, "So shame on me now."

"Nosedive!" the goalie yelled. "We've got work to do."

Nosedive groans and then winks at Elsie. He skates to the other side of the rink to join his teammates.

_He's a duck,_ she realizes. _What have I gotten myself into?" _


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mighty Duck.**

**Summary: **Much to Phil's dismay, the Ducks take in a homeless girl suffering from a mental illness. Wildwing accepts on one condition. Nosedive has other plans. And then there's this guy named Shaun.

**Chapter 2**

After the practice, the duck with the mask invites her to the locker room to chat, with Phil standing nearby. The other ducks had gone to go eat lunch.

"What happened to your eye?"

"I got in a fight." She hugs her knees and places her head on her knees.

"Who hit you?"

"My stepdad. It was my fault. He was drunk and I should have known not to cross him." She bites her lip and blinks away tears.

"So, did he kick you out because you pissed him off?"

"I ran away." Elsie replies, honestly. "I couldn't stay there. I'm not a bad person, I promise."

He pats her shoulder. "No one said that you're a bad person. What's your name?

"Elsie."

Okay, how old are you?"

"Nineteen."

"Nineteen," Phil mutters under his breath. "Wow. Old enough to do stupid things, but at the same time old enough to know better." He shakes his head. "Wildwing, baby…"

Wildwing gives him a dark look.

Her phone rings and Elsie glances down at it. It's her mother, again. _I should have left my phone at home, _she thinks. _But then her mother would have worried._ She is probably already worrying.

"Do you need to answer it?"

"No, I can call her back later. It's my mother."

"I think you should take that call. I can wait."

"Hello?"

"I heard yelling, are you alright? I've been trying to call you, but you haven't called back? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I'm…" She glances at Wildwing and Phil. "I'm with friends."

Her mother sighs a sigh of relief. "Where can I meet you to give you you're medicine? I don't want you to have another episode, if you're going to stay with friends for a little while."

"Is Dan still angry?" Elsie cuts in.

"Oh you know how he is, he's blows up and then he's fine. He's on a business trip right now. He'll be gone for three days at least."

She sighs. The decision is tough. She wants to go home and be with her mother, but then there's Dan.

"I want to come home, mom."

"Then come home, honey. He's not here."

"But when he comes back, where will I go? He kicked me out, remember."

Her mother sighs heavily. "I know, honey. We'll figure out something. Just come home."

"Ok." She hangs up the phone with a big sigh.

"Everything good, for now. He's gone for now."

"Let me, give you a few numbers, in case something goes wrong. Do you have something to write on and a pen?"

Elsie pulls a notebook out of her bag and tears a piece out and hands it to Wildwing. Phil fumbles in his pocket for a pen.

Wildwing scribbles two different numbers. "Okay, there's two numbers here. One is my personal number. I'm giving you that on the condition that you don't give it out to anyone, is that clear?"

Elsie nods. "Who would I give it to?"

"If you give out his number, I'm going to sue you…"

Wildwing rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "Anyway, the second is number is our friend, friend Captain Klegghorn. He's a friend of ours in the police department. You let me know if anything goes wrong, and I'll be thinking about a way to help you."

"Boobie… You can't do that. Then everyone and their mother's uncle will want help." Phil complains

"No." Wildwing answers. "I'm not doing it. What are your skills?"

"Well, I used to clean houses with my mom during the summer. I really know how to keep a house clean. I'm good at English. I'm a brown belt in karate…"

"Wait, wait, did you say you're a brown belt. Why don't you use that on your stepdad? Maybe you wouldn't get so beat up. And you're really good at getting things clean… Hm…"

"Wait!" Phil cries. "We could make it a reality television of what it's like living with the Mighty Duck."

"No, we're not doing that. I bet the fans would love that."

Wildwing ignores him. "Let me talk to my teammates, and I'll get back to you."

"I'm going home to my mom for now, but I'll call you if I need anything."

Wildwing stands and holds out his hand. "It was nice meeting you Elsie. I wish you the best of luck. Phil, I'm going to go eat lunch."

After the doors close, Phil walks up to her. "So, now that you may be a part of the Mighty Duck team, would you like to go to lunch?" He puts a hand on her arm

"I actually have to go home and do a few things, but thank you. Maybe another time." Elsie says. "I'm sure we'll see each other again."

"You want to do what?" Mal exclaims. "No way. This kid could be a hardened criminal for all we know."

"Look, we all hate cleaning our headquarters and she likes to clean. She'll earn a little money and that'll help her along," Wildwing says.

"What if she's from Dragaunus?" Tanya asks.

"We have to stop being so suspicion that the humans are out to get us. About how many times has that happened?" Duke says. "Very rarely. What if she'd trying to change her stripes? We should give her a chance."

"Maybe we should do a background check first, just to be on the safe side. Tanya does Drake One do that?"

Tanya shrugs. "It can do everything else."

"Except that it can't make coffee," Nosedive jokes. "Or hot chocolate. Then it could do almost everything."

"Shame it doesn't take out the trash," Duke says. "Tanya, have you come up a remedy for that yet?"

"We have Nosedive. We can use him," Mal says.

"Also sweeping things under the rug does not constitute cleaning up," She glares at both Duke and Mallory.

Wildwing holds up his hands, "Okay, back to the matter at hand."

"Wait a minute!" Nosedive exclaims. "Why do I get always get stuck taking out the trash?"

"Because you're the youngest, now shut up," Mallory snaps.

"Hey, if we hire that girl, I won't have to take out the trash. I'm all for it,"

"Her name is Elsie," Wildwing corrects his younger brother gently. "I'm not doing this because she's homeless or because we need someone to clean the Pond…."

"Something about this girl hits close to home," Duke answers. "Otherwise you wouldn't think about it twice."

"Phil thought it was a great idea. He suggested that we make it a reality television show," Wildwing says.

There is a collective groan throughout the Ducks. While he usually, meant well, he loved get rich schemes too much and the Ducks were usually the focus of the schemes.

"And you thought this was good idea, why?" Tanya asks. "It's a shame that she's homeless and whatever wrong with her."

"Her stepdad beats her," Wildwing interrupted. "There's nothing much else to it. She went home and he's not there. I gave her my number in case something happens. Maybe this is a onetime thing?"

"That's the problem with abuse, it's hardly a onetime thing.

**A/N: **Please review.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: ** I don't own the Mighty Ducks.

**Trigger warning: **Abuse

**Chapter 3**

After spending some time with her friend Becky, Elsie returned to her home close to nightfall. It would be dumb to stay out another night if Dan was gone. She should save her couch surfing for when things got rough. In her head, she ran through the short list of people that she could stay with. This wasn't her first time on the couch surfing wave. _Mookie and Thrash, Becky, Sara, River… _

Mookie and Thrash hung out with one of the Mighty Ducks. Which one was it? She only met him once and it apparently he didn't leave a lasting impression. It wasn't WIldwing, the one what she met today. What was his name?

A crash in the bedroom and heavy footsteps interrupted her thoughts. There's someone in the house.

She set her keys down on the dining room table and slid off her shoes. She tiptoed into the living room. The room was a mess. Feathers covered the living room floor. The television blared the opening for the for the hockey games. The Mighty Ducks play the Hornets tonight. Her real father used to take her to games and so she had a soft spot for the Ducks, before they became aliens.

The Ducks come out of the locker room, most of the crowd cheers. When the Wildcats came out, the fans boo good-naturally. Both teams stand with their hands over their hearts as the national anthem plays over the speakers, always respectful of the people and the place they have landed and made a home. The crime rate has gone down considerably with the Duck's watch on the city.

She touches the screen gently. "Keep me safe."

Flattening herself against the wall, she inches towards the directions in the way of the footsteps. A man mutters something that she doesn't understand. Dan is supposed to be out of town, it must be an intruder. She brings her hands in a guard stance.

She opens the door and comes face to face with Dan. "I thought I told you to get out of this house, you lazy bum." He grabs her roughly by the arm and slams her in the wall. His breath reeks of alcohol. "Enough of this playing sick, you need to get out there and support yourself. Do you know how much money I waste on your sorry ass? You're almost twenty. Do you know I was out on my own by then?"

"I'm trying," Elsie says.

"You're not looking hard enough." He slaps her across the face. "Do you hear me?"

She stumbles back into the hall, knocking several pictures off the wall. The front glass of the flame shatters as if falls onto the floor. As she falls, her hands land in the broken glass. She scrambles to get away from him. He kicks her in the ribs. Elsie grimaces. That was going to leave a mark.

Suddenly, Wildwing's words pop into her head. _If you have those abilities, than why don't use them to defend yourself._

She staggers to her feet. Immediately, she is punched in the face, sending her reeling. Her nose is now bleeding. Blood rushes down her face and onto her clothes. She tries to ignore the pain around her right eye. She would worry about it later. Dan takes a step towards her and throws a punch.

Elise steps to left and blocks his punch with a knife hand block, She grabs his wrist with her right hand and kicks him with her front leg and then knee. Then she flips him his back.

Her mother comes down the hallway sobbing. Elsie runs to her mother. Dan struggles to his feet. Police sirens fill the house. There's a knock on the door.

"Don't answer it," Dan says. "If you do, I'll beat you into a bloody pulp."

"Open up, police." A harsh voice says through the door. Elsie scrambles over to the door and opens it. A short man with red hair stands on the step. He flashes his badge, "I'm Captain Klegghorn. We got a call about a domestic- a hand grabs Elsie and slams her into a wall. "You stay out of this," Dan hisses at Captain Klegghorn.

"I'm afraid this is my business. You sir, are under arrest. Another cop came out and with a pair of handcuffs and cuffed Dan, "For domestic violence." He walks into the house, glass crunching underneath the sole of his shoe.

"Are you alright?" He asks Elsie as he helps her to her feet. Blood trickles down her temple onto the floor. Her right side made it hard to breathe.

"Come on, let's get the EMTs to look at you." He escorts her to the waiting ambulance. "Is there anyone else in the house?"

Several other people came out of their houses to watch the scene.

"My mother. Who called the police?"

"I believe it was your neighbors."

It wasn't the first time they called. Usually, Dan was good at keeping things under wraps, but when he was drinking, which was quite often, the neighbor called the police for either domestic dispute or a noise violation. It wasn't the first time Dan had been arrested for domestic violence.

One of the EMTs winces as Elsie walks to the ambulance. The place her on a stretcher and take her to the hospital.

The bed was uncomfortable. No matter how many pillows or how she adjusted the bed, or she put behind her back she seemed to slide down. You would think she should be used to them, considering how many times she spent times in the emergency room. Two police officers stood outside her room. To distract herself from the pain she watches the game on television.

Someone had the thought to neatly fold her clothes and place them on the chair. There was a knock on the side of the door. "Captain Klegghorn, may I come in?"

"Come in," Elsie replied. She winces as she pulls herself up. The pain medication isn't helping the throbbing pain in her ribs. She just wants to curl up in a little ball and sleep until the pain goes away.

"So, do you want to tell me what happened in there?" He opens up a note pad and flips to a clean page.

"He came home while I was away. Mom said that he had gone on a business trip. He told me not to come back, but I needed come home to get my medicine and a few other things. I planned to stay with a friend."

He scribbled a few things in his notebook. "What do you take medicine for?"

"I have Schizoaffective Disorder."

"And what is that?"

"It's a mental illness. I have the symptoms of schizophrenia and a mood disorder such as depression."

"Interesting." He continues to scribble. "You got a job?"

"I'm still looking. I've applied for a few places around town. That's what I did today."

"I'm assuming that your father—"

"Stepfather," Elsie quickly interrupted.

"Where's your real father?"

"He died a few years ago." She picks at the edge of the blanket. "He drowned."

"Sorry to hear that. When your stepfather to a hit you, did you fight back?"

"I did."

"What made you fight back?" He asked not even looking up from his notebook.

"Wildwing told me to." She bit her lip. "I have a brown belt and the skills, so why not use it?"

"You're going to listen to that bird brain?" He asks. "I probably would have said the same. That's why you learn that sort of thing. How do you know Wildwing?"

"I met him today. I watched them practice at the Pond for tonight's game. He gave me your number actually. He told me you could help."

"Really? Okay." He continues to write. "So do you have a place to stay tonight, or are you going to go back to your house?"

"Well, I have to go home and get my medicine and clothes."

"Things can be replaced. You unfortunately cannot. I would recommend you stay somewhere else tonight. I don't know if you're step dad is going to be released, and I don't want a repeat performance."

"Do you have any friends you can call, or would you like to call Wildwing?"

"I don't know if he can help me."

Captain Klegghorn looks up at the television. "There's less than two minutes left on the clock, and they're winning. My guess is there will be some sort of press conference, autographs, etc. Any idea when they're planning you to spring you from here?"

"I don't know," Elsie shakes her head. "I'm in a lot of pain."

"Let me see what I can do." He stands up and holds out his hand. "I'll call Wildwing in a few minutes. In the meantime, I'll get the nurse to see if she can give you something to ease the pain."

"Thank you." Elsie says.

"You're welcome, kid. We're going to figure this out." He disappeared for a moment and then walked back into the room.

He looks up at the television. The Ducks are ahead by two points and the game is down to a minute.

"Nosedive steals the puck and he's racing down the ice towards the Hornet's goal. Martin and Saveur try to stop them, but he out maneuvers them. He shoots! He scores! Now there's only ten seconds left on the clock. Stultz is in control of the puck, only to be checked on the boards by Grin."

"Pretty exciting game tonight, huh?" Captain Klegghorn asks, trying to make some sort of conversation.

"From what I've seen, it's been pretty exciting."

The nurse came in and injected her IV line with pain medication. "You're going to feel it burn as it goes into your veins.

She nods. Suddenly she feels very sleepy and can hardly keep her eyes open.

Captain Klegghorn shuts the glass door. He pulls a communicator out of his pocket.

"Welcome to Mighty Ducks live, you've got the Dive."

"Lemme talk to Wildwing."

"Please hold."

A few moments later, Wildwing's voice came over the communicator. "What's up Klegghorn?"

"I've got something of yours in the Emergency Room."

"Funny, I don't remember losing anything that would end up there."

"Does the name Elsie ring a bell to your little bird brain? She claims you gave her your phone number."

"Elsie," he repeats. "I did give someone my number today, but I don't remember…" There's noise in the background. "Oh," he exclaims, "Elise. Yeah I remember now. Did you talk to her? Is she ok?"

"She's in the ER. Well, if you count a black eye, a concussion, some lacerations, and a few couple of ribs as being okay, then yeah. They just gave her some more pain medicine."

Wildwing doesn't answer.

"So, do you feather pillows have any ideas how to help her out? She can't go back to her house and stay because of her lunatic stepfather might beat the living snot out of her and her mother again." Captain Legghorn growled.

There's a lot of chattering in the background.

"Quick squawking and give me an answer. She's still under observation. I don't know when they're going to spring her or they're going to keep her overnight, but there needs to be a plan in place.

"Tanya can keep an eye on her here. We've got the medical facilities in place for that. Let me get showered and changed. Tanya and I will be there as soon as we can.

**A/N: ** Please review.


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